Weston All Saints Primary School, Bath, England

The project is based on relocation of the existing Key Stage 2 school facilities into a new modern sustainable building as well as centralizing the school facilities which are currently spread over a very large school site. The relocation includes six new classrooms, offices for reception and school administration, library, IT training and school hall to serve both KS 1 and KS 2 pupils.

The new building design includes several environmental design features to achieve a BREEAM rating of Good as well as a 25% reduction in Carbon Footprint in line with Bath & North East Somerset Council’s corporate policies. These features include canopies to provide both covered external teaching areas and solar shading. The roofscape has roof lights to maximize natural lighting within the classroom and integrate actuated openings for natural cross ventilation. The building includes DDA compliant access to all areas across a sloping site which necessitates a split level design approach. There is also capacity to extend the building as part of a possible future integration of a new Key Stage 1 facility.

The uniform nature of the classrooms lends the scheme to a steel frame structure including the hall and administration area. This frame is to be supported off traditional concrete foundations and the floor slab will be suspended to minimize any filling work, retaining structures and importation of fill.

The existing drainage infrastructure was investigated and consisted of a pumped foul connection and a gravity surface water connection both to the respective public sewer networks. As part of our new design we provided three options for cost and feasibility consideration for the foul drainage. These options were a new foul pump station to serve the new KS2 and existing KS1 facilities pumped to the public foul sewer; an offsite (within legal boundary) gravity sewer and finally a package treatment plant with additional reed beds discharging to a local watercourse.

The surface water drainage options included an attenuated SUDS system discharging to an existing public surface water sewer and a SUDS system with educational Bio-pond, grassed swales and detention basin.